live in a senior area so far no complaints and I go to work at 5:15
drag pipes on mine just start the thing and go take it easy no problems

 

You just never know about your neighbors.

My next door neighbor is a retired accountant, friendly enough guy,just keeps to himself. I've only spoken to him a few times in the ten years we've been neighbors.

When I rode my new Street Bob home a few months ago,I had no more than turned into the driveway when he was over like a shot. He said he knew that sounded like a Harley and proceeded to regale me with tales of the bikes he had owned over the years and how much he liked mine. He had to sit on the bike and see how it felt. Must've spent an hour with me just shootin' the bull. I never would have dreamed he even knew what a Harley was, much less that he used to ride.

Seems like Harleys bring out the best in people. I've been on road trips and stopped at a rest area,tired,dirty and smelling like a goat and people will come up and ask where I'm going and tell me tales about their past bikes and leave smiling.

So,no, I doubt your neighbors hate you,maybe envy you though.

Good Luck

Tom

 

I used to worry about mine, then they started complaining amongst themselves about my dog barking too, (heard them commenting on it once) which is only when they have a bunch of people over and kids taunting her from their backyard. They also park along the street, which I'm not opposed to if the street is wide enough, but in my community that chokes our two-lane road down to one, and makes it a pain since they are on the corner and you have to enter an intersection while trying to see through his truck and her SUV.

So... I put on some V&H Sidehots, nice and loud... and I quit babying the car out of the garage. F-'em.

 

don't know if they do or not, I just moved into a new house last November and this spring all my neighbors bikes came out. I'll bet that out of the 15 or so houses around me, 10 of them have Harleys. When I was having the house built I met with the builder and had a Harley t-shirt on and he asked, you got a bike? I said 2, he said you'll fit in great around here, everyone has one, guess he wasn't kidding!

 

I worried about what my neighbors would think/say until they started gathering in my driveway every Friday to drink beer and talk bikes. Now their are 3 more guys with Harley's on my street and my buddy who lives next door started his riders class last night with the plan of buying a RK in a few weeks. The guy neighbors have become some of my closest friends over this. Their wives, however, hate my guts. Women, can't live with 'em, can't leave 'em layin' on the sidewalk when you're through with 'em.

 

I do care what they think. My neighbors respect me and I respect them. I kept the stock pipes on my bike. I realize the younger I was the less I cared about people and the louder my pipes were. Now, being 72, I am much more aware of my impact on other people.

 

SEII's are not that loud at all. I'm replacing mine with Rinehart 2into1's this weekend. Will have my SEII's for sale in the forums classifieds sometime next week.

Rick

 

If your neighbors bitch about SE II's being too loud then you need to move! They are probably the most mild pipes you can get other than stockers. I've had one person say something about my pipes, and this was the same jackass with dual 3 inch exhaust on his Dodge 1500 with a Hemi. Some people are going to complain just to hear themselves talk or to make them feel like they are in control. If the majority of your neighbors are cool, I wouldn't sweat it.

 

I don't *know* this for a fact, but I suspect my neighbors are all pretty aware that I am super gentle on my bike in the neighborhood as a courtesy. In fact, when I am coming home, I'll often coast the last 200 yards or so idling, even in the middle of the day. If I know someone is making an effort to reduce the annoyance factor, I'll tolerate a lot more. I would think most other people feel the same way. People are generally smarter than we give them credit for, they'll know you're taking it easy and that you're doing it for their sake.

Too many people have that "screw 'em" attitude and that makes everyone in their race or class or culture look bad. And it's kind of common sense, if you want your neighbors to be good neighbors, then shouldn't you make an effort to be a good neighbor? People are much more likely to get ticked off if you act like you don't give a crap how much noise you're making.

One day I backed the bike out of the garage and two of my neighbors got home at the same time and were talking across the street from each other. I knew it was a quickie or they would have walked closer to each other and I also knew they wouldn't be able to hear each other if I cranked up. I noticed them talking before I fired up and so I waited about 30 seconds for them to finish before cranking up. Both of those guys knew exactly what I was doing and so they know I'm willing to do what I can to avoid being a nuisance. In my opinion, the little things go a long way.

That's a long way of saying a guy with stock pipes could make himself more disliked than a guy with unbaffled drag pipes if he's stupid (selfish) enough. Be respectful and courteous and you shouldn't have problems. Maybe you have some irrational neighbors, but if so, you probably already are on their bad side so it won't matter ;-)

BTW, I had the SEIIs before getting a slightly louder 2-1. The SEIIs are not obnoxiously loud. I do try to fire up outside the garage though because the garage definitely projects the sound across the street.

Kevin

 

I have SEII's and love the sound. It's plenty loud enough for me with a nice low rumble. I just ease out of the subdivision at about 3:30am and haven't had a complaint yet. ( I do tend to make a little more racket when I come home in the PM )
John

'02 Heritage Classic